The nation’s economic downturn has not slowed development activity at Caldwell Companies’ 2,400-acre Towne Lake master-planned community off Barker-Cypress and West roads.

Two major milestones have been achieved at Towne Lake in the past two months: the completion of the first 75-acre section of the 300-acre lake that will serve as the heart of the community; and the opening of the first of several bridges that will span the lake and serve as community connectors.

“These are significant milestones when we look at Towne Lake’s big picture,” said Randy Young, Caldwell Companies’ director of operations and land development. “The completion of this first segment of the lake and the Hamilton Hills bridge gives residents and potential buyers a feel for the immense scale of the lake and the development. When we first started working on Towne Lake we were selling a vision of what was to be and were able to utilize images to illustrate that, but now we have a beautiful bridge and magnificent lake that provides a tangible piece of what this great community has to offer and an indication of the quality and scale of what is to come at Towne Lake.”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg - we are very excited about what lies ahead,” Young said.

Caldwell Cos. started work on the 75-acre section of lake about 18 months ago. It boasts about two miles of shoreline, is 10-feet deep and is located between Tuckerton and West roads on the south end of the Towne Lake community.

Peter Barnhart, Caldwell Companies’ vice president of development, said it was an engineering feat to excavate and remove the millions of cubic yards of dirt to achieve the depth and size of the lake, which will one day be the fourth largest in the Houston area.

“Every last bit of dirt has stayed on site,” Barnhart said. “We found very good use for it including creating some interesting terrain on our residential lots.”

Barnhart said Towne Lake was fortunate to receive so much rain in late April. Rainwater from storm events helped to fill the 75-acre section quickly.

Under development around the first section of lake are one-and-a-half miles of trails, and a boat ramp that will be able to serve motorized recreational boats soon. Several homes built on the lake will feature their own private docks. The lake is stocked with bass and perch.

“This truly is a recreational lake,” Barnhart said.

The company is hard at work digging out the second 75-acre section of lake, which will be completed in 2010. When the entire 300-acre lake is finished, there will be 14 miles of shoreline.

The lake is designed to draw Towne Lake residents out of their homes and together.

Spanning the existing lake is a magnificent 41-foot-long bridge on Hamilton Hills Drive. It is the first of 10 bridges and took about nine months to complete.

“The bridge is a milestone – both symbolically and practically – because it joins the north and south sides of the lake together,” Young said.

Towne Lake’s bridges will all be unique, but will carry a common “Hill Country” theme.

“The lake is the centerpiece and along with our bridges, serve to connect the community,” Barnhart said. “The bridges also enhance the community architecturally.”

Two more Towne Lake bridges are in the design phase – one on Greenhouse Road and one on Tuckerton Road. They should be under construction in the next four to six months, Barnhart said.

Despite an interesting turn in the real estate market, Barnhart said there is a high level of interest from potential buyers in Towne Lake. Sales activity has slowed a bit because people are taking their time when it comes to home purchases, he said, but the community has seen a steady stream of closings in recent months.

When fully built out, Towne Lake will have approximately 3,000 “Hill Country-inspired” single-family homes – many waterfront properties - ranging from the $200,000’s to multi-million-dollar properties. A 180-acre “Town Center” front U.S. 290 and will feature Class A office space and retail establishments. A specialty student housing development near the Lone Star College–CyFair campus it borders is under construction and will be ready for leasing in July. There will also be a community retail shopping and a myriad of waterfront restaurants on Barker-Cypress, as well as a community amphitheatre that seats 5,000-6,000.

In the heart of the community will be a marina and an additional community center with a competition pool, lagoon pool and lazy river. There will be about 20 parks and hiking and biking trails spread throughout Towne Lake, and “old-fashioned” fishing holes sprinkled throughout the community.

The Towne Lake community’s Welcome Center is located at 9214 W. Bridgeport Pass Circle.

For more information, go to www.townelaketexas.com or call 281-256-2772.